NEW DELHI — An Indian juvenile court on Saturday handed down the first conviction in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving New Delhi bus, convicting a teenager of rape and murder and sentencing him to three years in a reform home, lawyers said.

The victim’s parents denounced the sentence, which was the maximum the defendant faced. The family had long insisted the teen, who was 17 at the time of the December attack and is now 18, be tried as an adult — and thus face the death penalty — insisting he was the most brutal of the woman’s attackers.

“He should be hanged irrespective of whether he is a juvenile or not. He should be punished for what he did to my daughter,” the victim’s mother, Asha Devi, told reporters after the verdict was announced.

WASHINGTON — Authorities rescued 105 children who were forced into prostitution and arrested 150 pimps and others in a three-day law enforcement sweep in 76 American cities, the FBI said Monday. The victims, almost all girls, range in age from 13 to 17.

The largest numbers of children rescued were in San Francisco, Detroit, Milwaukee, Denver and New Orleans. The campaign, known as Operation Cross Country, was conducted under the FBI’s Innocence Lost initiative.

“Child prostitution remains a persistent threat to children across the country,” Ron Hosko, assistant director of the bureau’s criminal investigative division, told a press conference.

In much of the country today if a girl is found in the custody of a so-called pimp she is not considered to be a victim of abuse, and that’s just wrong and defies common sense

The FBI said the campaign has resulted in rescuing 2,700 children since 2003.

Our missionary compound in Liberia has been robbed. Both our missionaries (Miss Joanne Greer and Rev. Dave DiCanio) are safe, although Rev. DiCanio is shaken up as he faced the robbers and the very real threat of death. Dave has been doing a great work heading up the building project. The perimeter wall and the houses are still being built and there are security measures already in place. However much more needs to be done and we need more money to get the project completed. Here is a report (PDF) from the Mission Board of the Church (Free Presbyterian Church of North America). Pray for Dave and Joanne in the coming days that the Lord would give them grace, peace of mind and a sense of His securing and comforting presence.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Norwegian woman at the center of a Dubai rape claim dispute said Sunday that officials have dropped her 16-month sentence for having sex outside marriage and she is free to leave the country.

The sentence against the 24-year-old Dalelv last week stirred widespread outrage in the West and highlighted the frequent clash between Dubai’s Western-friendly image and its Islamic-based legal codes.

Dalelv claimed she was raped in March by a co-worker, but was charged with having sex outside marriage after going to the police. Her decision to go public about the sentence last week in a series of interviews appeared to put pressure on authorities in Dubai and tarnish the city’s reputation as a cosmopolitan hub, including possible fallout on its high-profile bid for the 2020 World Expo.